Artsakh
Encyclopedia
Artsakh was the tenth province
(nahang) of the Kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC until 387 AD and afterwards a region of Caucasian Albania
from 387
to the 7th century. From the 7th to 9th centuries, it fell under Arab
control. In 821, it formed the Armenian principality of Khachen and in around 1000 was proclaimed the Kingdom of Artsakh
, which was one of the last medieval eastern Armenia
n kingdoms and principalities to maintain its autonomy following the Turkic invasions of the 11th to 14th centuries.
Most of historical Artsakh presently overlaps with the region of Nagorno-Karabakh
, and is controlled by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
.
refers to an Armenian region which he calls "Orchistene.", which again is believed by Armenian scholars to be the old name of Artsakh
According to another supposition of David M. Lang, the ancient name of Artsakh probably recalls the name of King Artaxias I
of Armenia (190-159 BC), founder of the Artaxiad Dynasty
and the kingdom of Greater Armenia.
Folk etymology has that the name is derived from "Ar" (Aran) and "tsakh" (woods, garden) (i.e., the gardens of Aran Sisakean, the first nakharar
of northeastern Armenia).
The name today is used mostly by Armenians to refer to Nagorno-Karabakh
.
to the east, Gardman
to the northeast, and Syunik to the southwest. The river Arax formed the southern boundary. The Kingdom of Artsakh (1000–1261) also included Gardman, Sodk and some other parts of Gegharkunik
(in particular the southeastern shore of the Sevan Lake). Its area is estimated to have been 11,528 km2.
Important places (mostly fortified towns) included Parisos, Tigranakert
, Sodk, Tsar, Vaykunik, Asteghblur, Goroz and Berdaglukh. The fortress of Tigranakert, which was first excavated in 2005, is believed to be founded by King Tigranes the Great
of Armenia in the 1st century BC, although conceivably it could also be founded by King Tigranes I
(123-55 BC). Later, in the Albanian period, the village of Guetakan (Armenian: Գյուտական, known as the "Royal Village") became of great importance as the residence of Vachagan III the Pious (467-510 AD), the last King of Caucasian Albania. By early medieval times, the castle of Khachen served a considerable time as the center of Artsakh.
in the south. Only in the 13th century these two states merged into one - the Kingdom of Artsakh.
in the 6th century BC. According to this theory, from earliest time the Armenian Plateau was inhabited by many ethnic entities. The ethnic character of Artsakh may thus have been originally more varied and probably it was home of the ancient tribes who lived in the region of Arran, although that is not certain.
According to the Encyclopædia Iranica
, the proto-Armenians have settled in Artsakh already in the 7th century BC, though until the 6th-5th centuries BC the Armenians in the strict sense must have lived only on the western half of the Armenian Plateau (in areas between Cappadocia
, the Tigris
, the Euphrates
, and the lake of Van
). The proto-Armenians came to Artsakh and adjacent mountainous regions (such as Syunik
) somewhat later than the central parts of the Armenian Plateau and intermarried with its pre-Armenian natives to form its present Armenian people.
Noteworthy, Strabo
described Armenia (Artsakh and Utik included) in the 2nd century BC as "monolingual", though this does not mean that its population consisted exclusively of ethnic Armenians.
By medieval times
, from at least the 9th century, the population of Artsakh had a strong Armenian national identity
. Its people spoke a local Eastern Armenian dialect, the Artsakhian dialect (today known as the Karabakh dialect), which is mentioned by 7th century grammarian Stepanos Syunetsi in his earliest record of the Armenian dialects
, Assyria
, and Mannai. After the fall of Urartu (sixth c. BC), most of the region south of the Kura
, came under the domination of the Medes
and Achaemenian Persians..
In 189 BC
, when the Kingdom of Armenia was established, Artsakh became part of the new Armenian state. Strabo reports that King Artaxias I
of Armenia (189BC-159BC) expanded his state in all directions at the expense of his neighbors . At this time, he conquered from Medes
the lands of Caspiane and "Phaunitis" (supposedly a copyist error for Saunities, i.e. Siwnik), Utik
and possibly the unnamed land of Artsakh, laying between Caspiane and Siwnik. However it is just possible that Artsakh has earlier been part of Orontid Armenia in the 4th-2nd centuries BC rather than under Median rule.
According to a traditional Armenian
view, based on the accounts of early medieval Armenian historiographers Movses Khorenatsi
and Movses Kaghankatvatsi
, Artsakh was the original dominion of a certain Aran who was the progenitor of the House of Aranshahik - "the ancient native Armenian family". Aran was called "the Aghu" (meaning amiable in Armenian
) because his good manners. The genealogy of Aran (old spelling: Eran, hence: Eranshahik) is preserved by the historiographer Movses Kaghankatvatsi, who wrote that Aran belonged to the lineage of the ancient patriarchs and kings of Armenia
, including Hayk, Aramaneak, Aramayis, Gegham, Aram
, Ara the Beautiful
, Haykak, Norayr, Hrant, Perch, Skayordi, Paruyr, Hrachea, Ervand
(Orontes
) Sakavakeats, Tigranes
et al.
Aran was appointed by the King Valarsace
of Armenia as hereditary prince (nahapet or genearch) over the plain of Arran until the fortress of Hnarakert
. Aran is also known as the divine eponym and the first governor of the Caucasian Albania
ns, appointed by Vagharshak I the Parthian.
Armenia was converted to Christianity
. The Armenian historian Agathangelos
mentioned the princes of Utik and Sawdk (which probably comprised Artsakh) among the sixteen Armenian princes, who escorted Grigor the Illuminator to Caesarea, where he would be enthroned the High Priest of their land.
Artsakh became a major stronghold for Armenian missionaries to spread the Christianity in the neighboring countries. In 310 St Grigoris, the grandson of Grigor the Illuminator, was ordained bishop of Caucasian Iberia
and Caucasian Albania
in the monastery of Amaras
, being just 15 years old. After his martyrdom by the Mazkutian king on the field of Vatnean (near Derbent
), his disciples conveyed his body back to Artsakh and buried him in Amaras, which has been built by Grigor the Illuminator and Grigoris himself. Hence St Grigoris became a patron saint of Artsakh. The historiographer Pavstos Buzand wrote that "... every year the people of that places and cantons gathers there [in Amaras] for the festive commemoration of his valor".
In the 5th century, Christian culture flourished in Artsakh. In around 410 Mesrop Mashtots opened at Amaras
the first Armenian school. Later, more schools were opened in Artsakh.
anymore because of war-weariness. Following the defeat of the Sassanid and Albanian armies, the Armenian strategist
(sparapet) Mushegh Mamikonian punished severely the rebelled Armenian provinces, among others Artsakh, and subjected them to the king's rule. Then in 372
he attacked Caucasian Albanians and took back from them the neighboring province of Utik and made the river Kur the border between Armenia and Albania as it has been earlier.
Following the inconclusive Battle of Avarayr (451), where the Christian Armenian army clashed with the Sassanid army, many of the Armenian nobles retreated to impassable mountains and forests in several provinces, including Artsakh, which became a center for resistance against Sassanid Iran.
From 5th to 7th centuries Artsakh was ruled by Armenian
noble family of Arranshahiks.
Furthermore, the Armenian rulers of Artsakh began to play a considerable role in the affairs of Albania. In 498 in the settlement named Aghuen (in present-day Mardakert region of Nagorno-Karabakh), an Albanian church assembly was held, in the presence of the nobility and princes ("azgapetk") of Artsakh and the king Vachagan the Pious, to adopt the Constitution of Aghven, which would arrange relations between the of nobility (landlords), clergy and village people.
In the 7th-9th centuries, the Southern Caucasus was dominated by the Arabian Caliphate. In the early 9th century two Armenian princes - Sahl Smbatian and Esayi Abu-Muse
- who revolted against the Arab rule and established two independent principalities in Artsakh – Khachen and Dizak. At the time the Byzantine emperor Konstantinos Porphyrogennetos addressed letters "to prince of Khachen - to Armenia", being the residence of the Armenian prince Sahl Smbatian. The House of Khachen ruled Artsakh until the early 19th century, when it was conquered by Imperial Russia. It was then often referred to the Land of Khachen (later Karabakh
).
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
(nahang) of the Kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC until 387 AD and afterwards a region of Caucasian Albania
Caucasian Albania
Albania is a name for the historical region of the eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day republic of...
from 387
387
Year 387 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Eutropius...
to the 7th century. From the 7th to 9th centuries, it fell under Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
control. In 821, it formed the Armenian principality of Khachen and in around 1000 was proclaimed the Kingdom of Artsakh
Kingdom of Artsakh
The Kingdom of Artsakh is the modern name given to the medieval eastern Armenian state on the territory of Artsakh , Gardman and Gegharkunik. Contempororay sources referred to it as the "kingdom of Aghuank" or "Khachen". The royal house of Artsakh was a cadet branch of the ancient Syunid dynasty...
, which was one of the last medieval eastern Armenia
Eastern Armenia
Eastern Armenia or Caucasian Armenia was the portion of Ottoman Armenia and Persian Armenia that was ceded to the Russian Empire following the Russo-Turkish War, 1828-1829...
n kingdoms and principalities to maintain its autonomy following the Turkic invasions of the 11th to 14th centuries.
Most of historical Artsakh presently overlaps with the region of Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, lying between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains...
, and is controlled by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic , or Artsakh Republic is a de facto independent republic located in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia...
.
Etymology
According to Armenian and Western historians, inscriptions dating to the Urartian period mention the region under a variety of names: "Ardakh", "Urdekhe", and "Atakhuni." In speaking about Armenia in his Geography, the classical historian StraboStrabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
refers to an Armenian region which he calls "Orchistene.", which again is believed by Armenian scholars to be the old name of Artsakh
According to another supposition of David M. Lang, the ancient name of Artsakh probably recalls the name of King Artaxias I
Artaxias I
Artaxias I was the founder of the Artaxiad Dynasty whose members ruled the Kingdom of Armenia for nearly two centuries....
of Armenia (190-159 BC), founder of the Artaxiad Dynasty
Artaxiad Dynasty
The Artaxiad Dynasty or Ardaxiad Dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC until their overthrow by the Romans in AD 12. Their realm included Greater Armenia, Sophene and intermittently Lesser Armenia and parts of Mesopotamia...
and the kingdom of Greater Armenia.
Folk etymology has that the name is derived from "Ar" (Aran) and "tsakh" (woods, garden) (i.e., the gardens of Aran Sisakean, the first nakharar
Nakharar
Nakharar was a hereditary title of the highest order given to houses of the ancient and medieval Armenian nobility.-Nakharar system:Medieval Armenia was divided into large estates, which were the property of an enlarged noble family and were ruled by a member of it, to whom the title of Nahapet...
of northeastern Armenia).
The name today is used mostly by Armenians to refer to Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, lying between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains...
.
Geography
Artsakh covered the north-eastern range of the Armenian Plateau and was mostly mountainous and afforested. In medieval Armenian sources it is styled as a strategic and fortified region. It was bounded by the following Armenian principalities: UtikUtik
Utik was a historic province of the Kingdom of Armenia and a region of Caucasian Albania. Most of the region is located within present-day Azerbaijan immediately west of the Kura River while a part of it lies within the Tavush province of present-day northeastern Armenia.-History:According to...
to the east, Gardman
Gardman
Gardman was one of the eight districts of the ancient province of Utik' in the Kingdom of Armenia and simultaneously, together with the district of Tush, an Armenian principality. In the Early Middle Ages a feudal state of Gardman emerged on the area of Caucasian Albania...
to the northeast, and Syunik to the southwest. The river Arax formed the southern boundary. The Kingdom of Artsakh (1000–1261) also included Gardman, Sodk and some other parts of Gegharkunik
Gegharkunik, Gegharkunik
Gegharkunik is a village in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia.- References :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
(in particular the southeastern shore of the Sevan Lake). Its area is estimated to have been 11,528 km2.
Important places (mostly fortified towns) included Parisos, Tigranakert
Tigranakert (Artsakh)
Tigranakert is a former Armenian city dating back to the Hellenistic period. It is one of several former cities in the Armenian plateau with the same name, named in honor of the Armenian king Tigranes the Great Tigranakert is a former Armenian city dating back to the Hellenistic period. It is one...
, Sodk, Tsar, Vaykunik, Asteghblur, Goroz and Berdaglukh. The fortress of Tigranakert, which was first excavated in 2005, is believed to be founded by King Tigranes the Great
Tigranes the Great
Tigranes the Great was emperor of Armenia under whom the country became, for a short time, the strongest state east of the Roman Republic. He was a member of the Artaxiad Royal House...
of Armenia in the 1st century BC, although conceivably it could also be founded by King Tigranes I
Tigranes I
Tigranes I of Armenia reigned as King of Armenia from 115 BC to 95 BC. Artavasdes I did not leave any heir; his brother, Tigranes ascended to the throne of the Artaxiads. Some historians claim that Tigranes II the Great was the son of Tigranes I and not Artavasdes I....
(123-55 BC). Later, in the Albanian period, the village of Guetakan (Armenian: Գյուտական, known as the "Royal Village") became of great importance as the residence of Vachagan III the Pious (467-510 AD), the last King of Caucasian Albania. By early medieval times, the castle of Khachen served a considerable time as the center of Artsakh.
Cantons of Artsakh
According to anonymous 7th century Armenian "Geography" (Ashkharatsoyts) Artsakh comprised 12 cantons (gavars):- Myus Haband
- Vaykunik
- Berdadzor
- Mets Arank
- Mets Kuenk
- Harchlank
- Mukhank
- Piank
- Parsakank
- Sisakan Vostan
- Qusti Parnes
- Koght
Status
It is not certain how Artsakh was administrated as a province of Armenia. According to some Armenian scholars, Artsakh formed a principality with the adjacent canton of Sodk, however this is not certain. Conceivably it was royal land. Its northern part also comprised the principality of Koght and it is possible that the princes of Koght were the original owners of Artsakh. Under Albanian rule Artsakh, while often referred to, was not a recognized political entity. By the 9th century it comprised a number of small political units, including the principalities of Khachen in the center and DizakDizak
Dizak , also known as Ktish after its main stronghold, was a medieval Armenian principality in the historical Artsakh and later one of the five melikdoms of Karabakh, which included the southern third of Khachen and from the 13th century also the canton of Baghk of Syunik. The founder of this...
in the south. Only in the 13th century these two states merged into one - the Kingdom of Artsakh.
Population
Following the modern consensus among western scholars concerning the origin of the Armenian people, the latter represent a fusion of the mostly non-Indo-European natives of the Armenian Plateau (including Artsakh) and the incoming proto-Armenians, conventionally called the "Armens", who moved eastwards through the Armenian Plateau after the collapse of UrartuUrartu
Urartu , corresponding to Ararat or Kingdom of Van was an Iron Age kingdom centered around Lake Van in the Armenian Highland....
in the 6th century BC. According to this theory, from earliest time the Armenian Plateau was inhabited by many ethnic entities. The ethnic character of Artsakh may thus have been originally more varied and probably it was home of the ancient tribes who lived in the region of Arran, although that is not certain.
According to the Encyclopædia Iranica
Encyclopædia Iranica
Encyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
, the proto-Armenians have settled in Artsakh already in the 7th century BC, though until the 6th-5th centuries BC the Armenians in the strict sense must have lived only on the western half of the Armenian Plateau (in areas between Cappadocia
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...
, the Tigris
Tigris
The Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...
, the Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
, and the lake of Van
Lake Van
Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey, located in the far east of the country in Van district. It is a saline and soda lake, receiving water from numerous small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. Lake Van is one of the world's largest endorheic lakes . The original outlet from...
). The proto-Armenians came to Artsakh and adjacent mountainous regions (such as Syunik
Syunik
Syunik is the southernmost province of Armenia. It borders the Vayots Dzor marz to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave to the west, Karabakh to the east, and Iran to the south. Its capital is Kapan. Other important cities and towns include Goris, Sisian, Meghri, Agarak, and Dastakert...
) somewhat later than the central parts of the Armenian Plateau and intermarried with its pre-Armenian natives to form its present Armenian people.
Noteworthy, Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
described Armenia (Artsakh and Utik included) in the 2nd century BC as "monolingual", though this does not mean that its population consisted exclusively of ethnic Armenians.
By medieval times
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, from at least the 9th century, the population of Artsakh had a strong Armenian national identity
National identity
National identity is the person's identity and sense of belonging to one state or to one nation, a feeling one shares with a group of people, regardless of one's citizenship status....
. Its people spoke a local Eastern Armenian dialect, the Artsakhian dialect (today known as the Karabakh dialect), which is mentioned by 7th century grammarian Stepanos Syunetsi in his earliest record of the Armenian dialects
Early history
Archaeological evidence reflects the competing influence from around 800 BC of the neighboring rival states UrartuUrartu
Urartu , corresponding to Ararat or Kingdom of Van was an Iron Age kingdom centered around Lake Van in the Armenian Highland....
, Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
, and Mannai. After the fall of Urartu (sixth c. BC), most of the region south of the Kura
Kura River
Kura is a river, also known from the Greek as the Cyrus in the Caucasus Mountains. Starting in north-eastern Turkey, it flows through Turkey to Georgia, then to Azerbaijan, where it receives the Aras River as a right tributary, and enters the Caspian Sea...
, came under the domination of the Medes
Medes
The MedesThe Medes...
and Achaemenian Persians..
In 189 BC
189 BC
Year 189 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Nobilior and Vulso...
, when the Kingdom of Armenia was established, Artsakh became part of the new Armenian state. Strabo reports that King Artaxias I
Artaxias I
Artaxias I was the founder of the Artaxiad Dynasty whose members ruled the Kingdom of Armenia for nearly two centuries....
of Armenia (189BC-159BC) expanded his state in all directions at the expense of his neighbors . At this time, he conquered from Medes
Medes
The MedesThe Medes...
the lands of Caspiane and "Phaunitis" (supposedly a copyist error for Saunities, i.e. Siwnik), Utik
Utik
Utik was a historic province of the Kingdom of Armenia and a region of Caucasian Albania. Most of the region is located within present-day Azerbaijan immediately west of the Kura River while a part of it lies within the Tavush province of present-day northeastern Armenia.-History:According to...
and possibly the unnamed land of Artsakh, laying between Caspiane and Siwnik. However it is just possible that Artsakh has earlier been part of Orontid Armenia in the 4th-2nd centuries BC rather than under Median rule.
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
view, based on the accounts of early medieval Armenian historiographers Movses Khorenatsi
Movses Khorenatsi
Moses of Chorene, also Moses of Khoren, Moses Chorenensis, or Movses Khorenatsi , or a 7th to 9th century date) was an Armenian historian, and author of the History of Armenia....
and Movses Kaghankatvatsi
Movses Kaghankatvatsi
Movses Kaghankatvatsi , or Movses Daskhurantsi , is the reputed author of a 10th-century Old Armenian historiographical work on Caucasian Albania, known as The History of the Country of Albania .- Authorship :...
, Artsakh was the original dominion of a certain Aran who was the progenitor of the House of Aranshahik - "the ancient native Armenian family". Aran was called "the Aghu" (meaning amiable in Armenian
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
) because his good manners. The genealogy of Aran (old spelling: Eran, hence: Eranshahik) is preserved by the historiographer Movses Kaghankatvatsi, who wrote that Aran belonged to the lineage of the ancient patriarchs and kings of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, including Hayk, Aramaneak, Aramayis, Gegham, Aram
Aram
-Bible:* Aram, son of Shem, according to the "Table of Nations" in Genesis 10* Aram-Naharaim , the land in which the city of Haran lay* Aram , an ancient region containing the state of Aram Damascus...
, Ara the Beautiful
Ara the Beautiful
Ara the Beautiful is a legendary Armenian hero. He is notable in Armenian literature for the popular legend in which he was so handsome that the Assyrian queen Semiramis waged war against Armenia just to get him.He is sometimes associated with the historical king of Ararat known as Arame who...
, Haykak, Norayr, Hrant, Perch, Skayordi, Paruyr, Hrachea, Ervand
Orontes I
Orontes I Armenian King of Orontid Dynasty reigning in the period between 401 BC – 344 BC. The Persian version of the name is Auruand which meant "Great Warrior" in the Avestan language....
(Orontes
Orontid Dynasty
The Orontid Dynasty The Orontid Dynasty The Orontid Dynasty (also known by their native name, Yervanduni was a hereditary Armenian dynasty and the rulers of the successor state to the Iron Age kingdom of Ararat...
) Sakavakeats, Tigranes
Tigranes
Tigranes was the name of a number of historical figures, primarily kings of Armenia.The earliest Tigranes is mentioned in the Cyropaedia and in Armenian historical sources. He was an Armenian king from the Orontid Dynasty and an ally of Cyrus the Great. One of his sons was also named Tigranes...
et al.
Aran was appointed by the King Valarsace
Valarsace
Valarsace was a semi-mythical Parthian-ruler of Armenia. The first work of the new Parthian ruler of Armenia, Valarsace was to wipe out Brigandage. He was horrified by the barbarity of the country, whose inhabitants, he reported they lived by murder and pillage...
of Armenia as hereditary prince (nahapet or genearch) over the plain of Arran until the fortress of Hnarakert
Hnarakert
Hnarakert or Hunarakert is an antique castle which was located at the border of Gugark and Utik provinces of Greater Armenia, on the Kura River ....
. Aran is also known as the divine eponym and the first governor of the Caucasian Albania
Caucasian Albania
Albania is a name for the historical region of the eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day republic of...
ns, appointed by Vagharshak I the Parthian.
Christianity
In 301301
Year 301 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Postumius and Nepotianus...
Armenia was converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. The Armenian historian Agathangelos
Agathangelos
Agathangelos , appropriately so named, was a supposed secretary of Tiridates III, King of Armenia, under whose name there has come down a life of the first apostle of Armenia, Gregory the Illuminator, who died about 332. It purports to exhibit the deeds and discourses of Gregory, and has reached us...
mentioned the princes of Utik and Sawdk (which probably comprised Artsakh) among the sixteen Armenian princes, who escorted Grigor the Illuminator to Caesarea, where he would be enthroned the High Priest of their land.
Artsakh became a major stronghold for Armenian missionaries to spread the Christianity in the neighboring countries. In 310 St Grigoris, the grandson of Grigor the Illuminator, was ordained bishop of Caucasian Iberia
Caucasian Iberia
Iberia , also known as Iveria , was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli , corresponding roughly to the eastern and southern parts of the present day Georgia...
and Caucasian Albania
Caucasian Albania
Albania is a name for the historical region of the eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day republic of...
in the monastery of Amaras
Amaras
Amaras is a village in the Hadrut Province of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, de facto, and a village in the Khojavend Rayon of Azerbaijan de jure. Amaras is the site of the Amaras Monastery, one of the oldest in Nagorno Karabakh....
, being just 15 years old. After his martyrdom by the Mazkutian king on the field of Vatnean (near Derbent
Derbent
Derbent |Lak]]: Чурул, Churul; Persian: دربند; Judæo-Tat: דארבּאנד/Дэрбэнд/Dərbənd) is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, close to the Azerbaijani border. It is the southernmost city in Russia, and it is the second most important city of Dagestan...
), his disciples conveyed his body back to Artsakh and buried him in Amaras, which has been built by Grigor the Illuminator and Grigoris himself. Hence St Grigoris became a patron saint of Artsakh. The historiographer Pavstos Buzand wrote that "... every year the people of that places and cantons gathers there [in Amaras] for the festive commemoration of his valor".
In the 5th century, Christian culture flourished in Artsakh. In around 410 Mesrop Mashtots opened at Amaras
Amaras
Amaras is a village in the Hadrut Province of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, de facto, and a village in the Khojavend Rayon of Azerbaijan de jure. Amaras is the site of the Amaras Monastery, one of the oldest in Nagorno Karabakh....
the first Armenian school. Later, more schools were opened in Artsakh.
Armeno-Persian wars
The second half of the 4th century saw a series of wars between the Kingdom of Armenia and Persian Empire. After it lasted 34 years, the Armenian nobility of Artsakh and most of other provinces of Armenia revolted and refusing to support the Armenian king Arshak IIArshak II
Arshak II or Arsaces II, was the son of King Tiran and was himself king of Armenia from 350 to 367.- Reign :In the early years of Arshak's reign, he found himself courted by the empires of Rome and Persia, both of which hope to win Armenia to their side in the ongoing conflicts between them...
anymore because of war-weariness. Following the defeat of the Sassanid and Albanian armies, the Armenian strategist
Strategist
A design strategist has the ability to combine the innovative, perceptive and holistic insights of a designer with the pragmatic and systemic skills of a planner to guide strategic direction in context of business needs, brand intent, design quality and customer values...
(sparapet) Mushegh Mamikonian punished severely the rebelled Armenian provinces, among others Artsakh, and subjected them to the king's rule. Then in 372
372
Year 372 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Modestus and Arintheus...
he attacked Caucasian Albanians and took back from them the neighboring province of Utik and made the river Kur the border between Armenia and Albania as it has been earlier.
Medieval Period
However, war between the Sassanid Persians and Romans continued, and in 387 AD, according to the peace treaty between the two powers, the Armenian kingdom was partitioned between them. Albania, as an ally of the Sassanids, gained all the right bank of the river Kura up to the Araxes, including Artsakh and Utik.Following the inconclusive Battle of Avarayr (451), where the Christian Armenian army clashed with the Sassanid army, many of the Armenian nobles retreated to impassable mountains and forests in several provinces, including Artsakh, which became a center for resistance against Sassanid Iran.
From 5th to 7th centuries Artsakh was ruled by Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
noble family of Arranshahiks.
Furthermore, the Armenian rulers of Artsakh began to play a considerable role in the affairs of Albania. In 498 in the settlement named Aghuen (in present-day Mardakert region of Nagorno-Karabakh), an Albanian church assembly was held, in the presence of the nobility and princes ("azgapetk") of Artsakh and the king Vachagan the Pious, to adopt the Constitution of Aghven, which would arrange relations between the of nobility (landlords), clergy and village people.
In the 7th-9th centuries, the Southern Caucasus was dominated by the Arabian Caliphate. In the early 9th century two Armenian princes - Sahl Smbatian and Esayi Abu-Muse
Esayi Abu-Muse
Esayi Abu-Muse was an Armenian prince of southern Artsakh, who ruled a major part of Arran in the mid-9th century and is considered the founder of the House of Dizak.-Name and Origins:...
- who revolted against the Arab rule and established two independent principalities in Artsakh – Khachen and Dizak. At the time the Byzantine emperor Konstantinos Porphyrogennetos addressed letters "to prince of Khachen - to Armenia", being the residence of the Armenian prince Sahl Smbatian. The House of Khachen ruled Artsakh until the early 19th century, when it was conquered by Imperial Russia. It was then often referred to the Land of Khachen (later Karabakh
Karabakh
The Karabakh horse , also known as Karabakh, is a mountain-steppe racing and riding horse. It is named after the geographic region where the horse was originally developed, Karabakh in the Southern Caucasus, an area that is de jure part of Azerbaijan but the highland part of which is currently...
).
See also
- Principality of Khachen
- Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)
- Caucasian AlbaniaCaucasian AlbaniaAlbania is a name for the historical region of the eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day republic of...